The North Pole Express

We took Will and Alex to Calera for a train ride to the North Pole on December 2. Last year we tried to take Will but it was sold out (IN OCTOBER) when we tried to buy tickets. So we settled for a "Special Train Ride with Santa" and went ahead and put it on our calendar (FOR JULY??!!) to remember to buy our tickets.
I think this will become an annual event for the Vakakes family. It was cold as we waited! Poor Alex, all bundled up, had no idea what to think. A real live conductor punched our tickets before we got on board and Will thought it was so fun that it was just like the conductor did it in the Polar Express (a favorite movie these days...)Will and Alex wore their matching Christmas PJ's and looked adorable. The ride started out with the reading of a book about how it is possible to take a train to the North Pole. The North Pole wasn't quite what I envisioned.......it wasn't covered in white, but instead with giant inflatables of anything Christmas related that you could think of. When we pulled up, Santa and Mrs. Claus were waving from their sleigh. Will was totally into it and had his face smashed up against the glass window, taking it all in. We sang Christmas carols and enjoyed chocolate milk and cookies while Santa made his way through the train and greeted all the boys and girls. My favorite memory from this night was looking at Will, eyes sparkling, singing "Ningle Bells, Ningle Bells!" It was too cute and we realized he knew more Christmas carols than we thought. Alex was just happy to be along for the ride.I am pretty sure this would be on Will's list of Top 3 best moments of his entire life to date. Trains, Cookies, and Chocolate milk.....what more could any almost 3 year old want? :)

TGIF

Six

Alex was 6 months on December 1st. We had his six month check up yesterday. He weighs 18 lbs 13 oz and is 27 1/2 inches long (Will was 18 lbs and 27 inches long at this point so they are almost exactly the same size). He is still perfect and precious in every way. He is the most content child on the planet. My dad swears he has never heard him cry....and he really doesn't. The only time I can recall him crying is when Will has made a loud sound that startles him. Even if he is hungry or sleepy, he barely whimpers.
We learned at the doctor that he has his first ear infection. We would have never known anything was wrong with him! Sweet boy hasn't fussed or complained in the least bit. I was a little freaked out because Will didn't have so much as a stuffy nose until he was 11 months old, but Dr. Israel said she was surprised he made it this long having Will at home bringing home all those daycare germs. So we have the bubble gum medicine and hopefully it will clear up quick!
It makes me laugh to think about how much more laid back I am this go round. Over Thanksgiving I mentioned that we took the kids to McWane on Saturday morning....during Alex's morning nap.....I would NEVER have done that with Will! Will was rarely away from home during nap time. Alex just goes wherever, whenever which is probably what makes him so laid back....I am more laid back.

He loves his brother and it shows more and more every day. It is the most precious thing to watch. Alex will smile at me or John and will giggle at times, but nothing can make him laugh harder than Will. And Will doesn't even have to work for it...he just talks to him and Alex is completely entranced. Last night I put them in the bathtub together for the first time. Our bathtub in the master bedroom is huge, so I put Alex's baby bathtub on one side and Will was on the other side. He would hand Alex toys and was never rough with him or even splashed him. It was so much fun and I think we will be doing bath time together from now on!
Alex loves to eat and is not picky in the least. He has been given the go ahead to start stage 2 foods and baby yogurt!
We are loving this sweet stage with him. He is almost sitting up which will make things a lot easier and more fun for him I think! Will is dying for him to be able to play with him instead of just drool all over his toys :) I absolutely can't WAIT until Christmas!!!
Life is good. God knew just what he was doing when he gave me 2 boys!

Post Thanksgiving

Well I already told you that Alex missed all of the Thanksgiving day festivities because he was sick. Luckily, Friday he woke up much better! Still had a cough, but nothing like Wed/Thurs. My brother and his family rolled into town on Friday and we got to spend the weekend with them! To say Will loves his cousins is a HUGE understatement. They are among the first he mentions when we say his prayers at night and he lights up when he sees them. We love having them in town too! All of the big boys headed to the Plains on Saturday for the Iron Bowl. John had said since the season started that he wasn't going to go to the Iron Bowl this year....so close to Christmas we didn't need to spend the money.....it would be okay to miss just this year.....blah blah blah. I KNEW that the closer it got, it would eat him alive not to be there. His uncle and cousin coach high school football and they were able to give him one of their coaches passes. I knew he would end up going! He didn't ride with my dad, brother, and nephew though....to quote him...."I don't really feel like being cordial tomorrow. There is no since in mixing oil and water."
My mom suggested we take the little kids to McWane before the game so we started off at Dunkin' Doughnuts where Will had an Auburn doughnut before heading to McWane. {I can't even tell Will to smile or say cheese anymore because this is the face I get. I love his little face, but really?? Does every picture I take right now have to have squinted/basically closed eyes???}Their Winter Wonderland exhibit, along with the trains, was open and it was fun for all of us!

A House Divided....we got comments all day at McWane because everyone had on their Alabama gear except for Will (I am SUCH a good wife...) :)They loved playing in the snow!Sutherlan went on the zip line about 86 times!Ice Fishing...

Playing in the bubbles...We ended the day back at Kiki and Pops to watch the game, paint some ornaments, and play with the extremely impressive village set up Kiki created this year!

So glad Christmas is just a few weeks around the corner so we can spend some time all together again!

First Dentist Appointment

I took Will to the Dentist the day before Thanksgiving for his first check up. We chose Dr. Rohner because we know her and her family. I taught her oldest son last year. She has a great office to keep little people entertained and sidetracked so they don't remember they are at the dentist :) Will did SO great...I was so surprised!! He just sat quietly while they counted his teeth (20!) and cleaned them with his new Dora/Diego toothbrush. He got an A+.....actually his daddy I guess gets the A+ since he is the one who brushes his teeth for the most part. They said everything looked great, no cavities, and no permanent damage from the paci (this was our biggest concern since he just got rid of it about a month ago). So proud of our big boy! He is into all things dinosaur these days so he got to pick out and apply a dinosaur tatoo and chose a plastic dinosaur out of the treasure chest.

Thankful

Tonight I am thankful for humidifiers and sleeping babies. As luck would have it, Alex missed out on the festivities of his very first Thanksgiving. When he woke up from his nap yesterday he started coughing that barking seal kind of bark that sounded like the beginning of croup. I dismissed it thinking/hoping/praying it was just a cough and the later it got, the worse he got. Thankfully he wasn't breathing fast or struggling to breathe. It was a long night with a lot of up and down, sometimes to comfort him but sometimes just to check on him. We called the After Hours number last night and again this morning. We are 99% sure it was/is croup. She did recommend that he stay at home near a humidifier.....so no turkey for Alex! I took Will with me to my side's lunch while John stayed home with Alex and then came home and switched with John, who then took Will to his side while I held down the fort. It was a pretty boring day, but I am so grateful that Alex seems to be on the upswing and nothing major developed in his breathing/lungs.
All 4 of us were laying on the couch tonight and I couldn't help but think about how much we have to be thankful for....not just today.....but every single day! I am thankful for two precious boys who are healthy and love each other and are great sleepers (even though Will is a SUPER early riser). I am thankful for baby feet and Will's giggles. I am thankful that my den more often than not looks like a race track. I am thankful that Will and Alex will never remember a time without the other-I pray each day that a strong bond is forming between them! The list could go on and on....I am trying to soak in these moments. I have heard many say that the days are long, but the years are short. So true! Happy Thanksgiving!

SANTA....I know him!

We haven't taken the boys to go and see Santa quite yet.....trying to get through Thanksgiving first. However, Friday night we bundled them up and headed out to the Summit for their annual "lighting" event with a parade that concludes with Santa and fireworks. This was a really fun (and free) event that I think we will do every year! Will loved it. He didn't show a whole lot of facial expression during the parade....I think he was just taking it all in. When Santa came by, he just sort of had this jaw dropped stare....he is just starting to "get" the whole Santa concept :) He liked seeing Belle and Beast (Beauty and the Beast is one of his favorites right now), but would not get close to any of them to have his picture made (Disney in March should be interesting...) Yia Yia and Papou joined us at the parade and we had a great time! Will's favorite part was definitely the fake snow courtesy of Magic 96.5!!! I am so looking forward to the holiday season this year!! We have some fun events on our calendar and I think Will is going to be so fun!!Our little friend Cooper is so adorable!

Alex didn't really understand what the fuss was all about....We totally have Yia Yia and Papou wrapped around our finger....Watching for Santa with Daddy...Will loved watching the fireworks with Papou!Go figure...the only people Will would agree to pose with were the elves on stilts :)

Told ya....Snow was his favorite part!